It is often seen that while giving a job interview or a presentation, you get nervous and under confident. And being overwhelmed by your nerves is considered to be completely normal.
But if you notice a constant fear of being judged, scrutinized and noticed. This is a big sign indicating that you are suffering from social anxiety.
According to the best psychiatrist, one of the biggest problems with mental illnesses is the lack of knowledge about them. Unlike a broken bone or a fractured knee there’s no guarantee of recovery in this case. When someone near you is suffering from this disorder, never use statements like;
- “Why are you feeling anxious?”
- “Don’t think about others, they’re busy in their own lives.”
- “Pull yourself together”
Instead of making others feel miserable try out things to divert their brain from the negative thoughts. If you feel anxious yourself incorporate these tips in your daily life and you’d see for yourself!
Here’s how You can tackle Anxiety
1. Concentrate on your Breathing
Social anxiety causes changes in your body that sometimes result in creating issues with breathing. You might feel that you’re breathing too shallow or too fast. This will add up to your anxiety. You get dizzy, tense or suffocated. Certain breathing techniques can help you manage anxiety symptoms, here are some steps to follow:
- Sit comfortably.
- Keep your back straight.
- Put one hand on your belly and the other on your chest.
- Breathe in for 4 seconds, This will cause your hand on the belly to rise.
- Hold your breath for 2 seconds then let it out in 6 seconds.
- Repeat it until you feel comfortable.
2. Give Exercise or Progressive Muscle Relaxation a Try
A lot of studies say that jogging is one of those exercises which works well for people with anxiety. But progressive muscle relaxation helps more than jogging does. It is a technique in which you flex and release a group of muscles in your body. All the attention is on releasing.
Yoga can also help you deal with anxiety very well as it lowers heart rate and blood pressure. Often people say that they saw a lot of changes after doing yoga for a few months.
3. Prepare yourself
If you plan ahead for the situations that make you feel anxious it can stop your anxiety from getting worse. I know you just want to ignore it and let it go. But trust me, if you prepare yourself beforehand, it will help you immensely.
For example, if it’s a social event that you’re going to, try and search for new topics to talk about. Do your breathing exercise before going to the main event. Calm yourself before you’re about to feel anxious.
4. Talk Back to Your Negative Thoughts
The negative thoughts can be about both situations and people. Most of the time, these are wrong. But these can lead you to misread things like facial expressions. It makes you assume that people are assuming stuff about you when they’re not.
You can simply take your diary out;
- Think of all the thoughts that will bug you in a specific setting.
- Right them down
- Now Right positive thoughts that would challenge them.
5. Use your All Five Senses
In the moment when you are feeling anxious, your senses can help you out. While you’re having an anxiety attack. Focus on one thing that you can see, one that you hear in your surroundings. Take a gum or a candy and feel the flavor. Sniff in and smell around. Snuggle with your pet or anyone close near you.
This technique helps in diverting your attention and hence make you feel less anxious.
6. Take the Focus Off of Yourself
Instead of focusing on what’s going on in your head, try focusing on what others are doing around you. Sit with people and have a conversion. Listen to what they have to say. People really appreciate when someone listens to them actively. Engage yourself and get out of your head.
Final Thoughts…
I know you want to get out of this social anxiety and break free. Keep this in mind that everything takes time. No matter what you do, you cannot become a social butterfly in a night. Be pleased with all the small efforts that you make. You’re doing great! 🙂